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The 'Mapping Australian higher education' series of reports aims to provide information on trends, policy and performance in the Australian higher education sector. The 2018 report is the fourth in this series. Chapter 1 explains how higher education is defined in Australia, the different types of higher education provider, the various types of qualification, and what makes universities distinctive among higher education providers. Chapter 2 reports on student trends, including enrolment numbers, courses chosen, and the mix of students on campus. It also discusses how students enter the higher education system. Chapter 3 examines the student experience, including subject fail rates and satisfaction with teaching. Chapter 4 looks at the higher education workforce, including why people become academics, their employment arrangements, and their pay. Chapter 5 looks at research in Australian universities, including what topics are researched and research outputs. Chapter 6 provides information on how higher education is funded, including overall levels of funding, the income-contingent HELP student loan scheme, and research funding. Chapter 7 outlines how per student funding levels are determined, and how student places are distributed among higher education providers. Chapter 8 describes the expanding scope of the Commonwealth Government in higher education, the key government departments and the higher education interest groups. Chapter 9 examines higher education's benefits to the public and employers, including whether higher education graduates meet employment needs, the quality of university research, and public satisfaction with Australian universities. Chapter 10 reports on graduate employment and income, showing differences by discipline, age and gender.

Excerpts from publication with additional information.

Earlier reports from this series are indexed in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 107.739, TD/TNC 111.329, TD/TNC 118.435 and TD/TNC 125.429. Show less

Schools must make time in their day to help teachers develop or Australia will continue to slide in international school education rankings. Australian school systems and schools are struggling to allocate the time and resources needed to put teaching and learning first. The world's highest-performing school systems provide time for teachers to be mentored, research best practice, have their classes observed and receive constructive feedback on their performance. These systems are relentless about teacher development. Australian school systems are committed to it in principle but struggle to implement it in practice.

[This] report examines the timetables and budgets of six diverse schools across the country to identify ways they can change their practices in order to free up time for teacher development. It recommends, among a range of options, that schools make this time by reducing teacher presence at meetings and assemblies, extra-curricular events and professional development days that do not improve teaching. Yet while schools can make substantial changes, governments and school systems must lead the way by changing regulations in order to give teachers time to improve their classroom practice. At present Australian school systems are often going the opposite way: schools are being asked to take on more subjects, more student welfare support, more extra-curricular activity and smaller classes. The best way to improve schools is to make the time to improve teaching.

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This report examines the use of public funding in the form of higher education (HE) tuition subsidies. It proposes a new model for HE expenditure, arguing that tuition subsidies only be paid when they create public benefits that would not otherwise be created. The proposal is based on evidence that most graduates do well out of higher education, enjoying good jobs and high social status. Since most subsidies are for courses that students would take anyway, tuition subsidies therefore redistribute income to students and graduates, at the expense of the general public, particularly those who do not go to university. This report is supported by two analytical reports: Detailed financial analysis: analysis supporting the Graduate Winners report / Ben Weidmann and Andrew Norton; Non-financial benefits of higher education: analysis supporting the Graduate Winners report / James Savage and Andrew Norton. Show less

Exploitation of migrant workers in Australia is rife. Recent migrants are twice as likely as long-term residents to be underpaid, and up to 16 per cent of recent migrants are paid less than the national minimum wage. Exploitation hurts migrants, but it also weakens the bargaining power of Australian workers, harms businesses that do the right thing, damages Australia's global reputation, and undermines confidence in the migration program. Exploitation of migrant workers - who are often young and vulnerable - is a blight on Australia's claim to be the land of the fair go. This report shows how the government can stamp it out.

Three sets of reforms are needed to eliminate exploitation. First, visa rules that increase migrants' risk of exploitation should be reformed. Many temporary visa-holders put up with mistreatment because they fear that if they speak up their visa will be cancelled or they will lose their pathway to permanent residency in Australia. Temporary skill-shortage visas should be made portable, so migrants can flee from an exploitative employer. And a new Workplace Justice visa should be created, to empower workers to report exploitation and stay in Australia while they pursue unpaid wages. Second, workplace and migration laws should be strengthened and better enforced to deter exploitation. Few employers who underpay their migrant workers get caught, and when they do get caught the penalties are far too small. The Fair Work Ombudsman hit employers with just $4 million in penalties in 2021-22, whereas the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) hit taxpayers with $3 billion in penalties and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) imposed $232 million in penalties for breaches of competition and consumer law. The Fair Work Ombudsman should be renamed the Workplace Rights Authority and given greater powers and more funding. Maximum court-ordered penalties against employers should be increased, and criminal penalties including jail should apply where employers knowingly underpay workers. Third, migrants should be given more help to reclaim lost wages. Migrant Workers Centres should be established in each state, funding for community legal centres should be boosted, and the Fair Entitlement Guarantee should be extended to migrant workers. These reforms would cost $115 million a year. That should be covered by a levy on select temporary visas set at $30 for each year of work rights the visa offers (raising $45 million a year) and by the larger penalties paid by employers who underpay their workers (at least $70 million a year).

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This report aims to provide information on trends, policy and performance in Australian higher education. Chapter one explains how higher education is defined in Australia, the non-university higher education providers, and what makes universities distinctive among higher education providers. Chapter two reports on student trends including enrolment numbers, courses chosen, and the mix of students on campus. Chapter three looks at researchers in Australian universities, what subjects they research, and how much they publish. Chapter four provides information on how higher education is funded, including the income-contingent [Higher Education Loan Program] HELP student loan scheme. Chapter five outlines how per student funding levels are determined, how student places are distributed, and the connections between the two. Chapter six describes the rising authority of the Commonwealth Government in higher education, and the key government departments. Chapter seven covers academic standards, student engagement and satisfaction, and graduate employment and earnings. Chapter eight examines shortages of graduates, the quality of university research, the broader public benefits of higher education, and public satisfaction with Australian universities.

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A Grattan Institute survey of 700 teachers and principals, conducted for this report, finds that top teachers are often given 'add-on' coaching roles, with inadequate time, training, or support to do the job properly. This report describes a new career path for top teachers that would make them responsible for leading professional learning and improving the teaching of the whole workforce. Over time it would transform school education, further professionalise teaching, and lead to students gaining about 18 months extra learning by age 15.

This report calls for two new roles for Australia's top teachers, giving them dedicated 'day jobs' to improve teaching across all schools. Both roles would focus on specific subjects such as maths, science, and English. 'Master Teachers' (the top 1 per cent of the profession) would have no formal classroom load but would be the overall pedagogical leaders in their subjects, working across a network of schools in their region. They would help identify teacher needs and coordinate training. They would guide 'Instructional Specialists' (limited to 8 per cent of the workforce), who would split their time between classroom teaching and instructional leadership. Instructional Specialists would work in their own schools to support and guide other teachers.

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This report argues that increasing female workforce participation is one of the biggest economic opportunities for governments. Australia's female workforce participation rate is above the OECD average, but Australian women are much more likely to work part-time. A typical Australian woman with pre-teenage children works 2.5 days a week. This report identifies a range of policy and social barriers facing women who would prefer to work more paid hours. For example, a combination of tax, welfare settings, and childcare costs means some second-earners take home little or no extra pay for additional hours of work. This 'workforce disincentive rate' can be particularly punishing for the fourth and fifth day of work for the primary carer, still generally a woman. Key recommendations from the report are to: (1) reduce the barriers to paid work; (2) improve childcare availability and quality; and (3) enable shared caring. A key example is for the Commonwealth Government to boost the Child Care Subsidy and improve its design so that second-earners take home more pay from additional hours of work.

Edited excerpts from publication and publisher's website. Show less

This report aims to provide information on trends, policy and performance in Australian higher education. Chapter one explains how higher education is defined in Australia, the different types of higher education providers, and what makes universities distinctive among higher education providers. Chapter two reports on student trends including enrolment numbers, courses chosen, and the mix of students on campus. Chapter three looks at researchers in Australian universities, what subjects they research, and how much they publish. Chapter four provides information on how higher education is funded, including overall levels of funding, the income-contingent [Higher Education Loan Program] HELP student loan scheme, and the organisation of research funding. Chapter five outlines how per student funding levels are determined, and how student places are distributed between higher education providers. Chapter six describes the expanding scope of the Commonwealth Government in higher education, the key government departments, and the higher education interest groups. Chapter seven covers academic standards, student engagement and satisfaction, and graduate employment and earnings. Chapter eight examines shortages of graduates, the quality of university research, the broader public benefits of higher education, and public satisfaction with Australian universities. This edition contains the following sections, which are entirely new or have content that is significantly changed from the 2012 edition: section 1.4 on the non-academic workforce; sections 5.2 and 8.1, which offer a preliminary assessment of how the demand-driven undergraduate funding system is going; section 6.3 on higher education interest groups; section 7.3.1 on graduate employment; section 7.3.2 on graduate income; and section 8.3 on the additional tax paid by graduates and other public benefits.

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Since the late 1980s student charges have helped finance higher education. While what universities can charge domestic undergraduate students at public universities is capped, one in every three students enrols in courses where fees are uncapped. This report examines the dynamics of deregulated university markets. It focuses on the undergraduate international and the postgraduate student markets. Together they enrolled more than 400,000 students in 2014.

The report is structured as follows. Chapter 2 looks at the undergraduate international student market at universities. It suggests that universities take a commercial view of the international student market, and set fees in-line with their international competitors. Chapter 3 investigates the postgraduate student market. Nearly 60 per cent of domestic students pay fees, while the rest are Commonwealth-supported. For domestic students, universities do not always take a commercial approach. In some fields, such as nursing, it is not unusual for universities to receive less from a fee-paying student than a Commonwealth supported place. When international and domestic fee-paying students are enrolled in the same course, domestic students never pay more than international students. Chapter 4 reports on the revenue that deregulated markets provide Australian universities. In 2013, universities received nearly $6 billion from fee-paying students - triple the revenue in 2000 in real terms. As a share of total university revenue, fee income has also grown. In 2013, one in every five dollars earned by public universities came from fee-paying students.

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Attracting top talent into teaching should be a core policy priority in Australia. This report shows that our children would learn more if we attracted more high achievers to become teachers. Evidence shows that teachers with strong academic records are likely to be more effective in the classroom. A higher-achieving teacher workforce would give the typical Australian student an extra six to 12 months of learning by Year 9, possibly much more. Governments must do more to make teaching an attractive career choice. Australian universities can only select the best teacher candidates - with both academic and non-cognitive skills - if enough high achievers apply in the first place. Investing in attracting the right people to teaching will have large longterm benefits, for students' lives and Australia's economic prosperity.

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